James Gurney

This daily weblog by Dinotopia creator James Gurney is for illustrators, plein-air painters, sketchers, comic artists, animators, art students, and writers. You'll find practical studio tips, insights into the making of the Dinotopia books, and first-hand reports from art schools and museums.

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All images and text are copyright 2015 James Gurney and/or their respective owners. Dinotopia is a registered trademark of James Gurney. For use of text or images in traditional print media or for any commercial licensing rights, please email me for permission.

However, you can quote images or text without asking permission on your educational or non-commercial blog, website, or Facebook page as long as you give me credit and provide a link back. Students and teachers can also quote images or text for their non-commercial school activity. It's also OK to do an artistic copy of my paintings as a study exercise without asking permission.

Sunday, June 10, 2012

This scene from Dinotopia: The World Beneath (1995) shows a tyrannosaur and a couple of allosaurs attacking a Dinotopian walking machine called a strutter.

In Dinotopia it's dangerous to cross through the jungle in the center of the island, which is ruled by large theropods. The scene takes place as the strutter crosses a shallow stream.

The tyrannosaur is using its powerful foot to pin down the head of the strutter, and is biting off the top of the frill. For a scene like this, I used existing dinosaur models for lighting reference. Trying to guess where those shadows would fall without a maquette would be rather difficult.

The color scheme is limited to yellow ochre, dull red-violets and dull blue-greens. I tried hard to keep bright blue out of the scene. The painting is done in oil fairly transparently on the dinosaur, with a little more opacity in the background.

Thanks for the awesome post! I've been following your blog for years and recently picked up Imaginative Realism. It's one of the most informative, clear, and helpful art books I've ever owned. Thanks for putting all of that knowledge out there, both on your blog and in your book. :)

Thanks for the awesome post! I've been following your blog for years and recently picked up Imaginative Realism. It's one of the most informative, clear, and helpful art books I've ever owned. Thanks for putting all of that knowledge out there, both on your blog and in your book. :)

This reminds me of an experiment wherein a steel T. rex skull was made and powered by hydraulic equipment meant to mimic the tyrannosaur's actual biomechanical capabilities. There's a video here where you can watch: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AiNHosvKB3g

It's a little hokey, but pretty interesting nonetheless. A mini-cooper isn't the same as a strutter though - I'm guessing the strutters were made better.